I am quite a new vege gardener in Westville and am still learning the ropes. I have this complete block as regards to mulching. I think that compost (no composter yet) and straw (too far to go for) are probably the best. I have just purchased a leaf vacuum/blower that mulches the leaves quite small and wondered if I can use these or must it be processed in a further manner before putting it on the beds? What other suggestions do you have? Thanks for the great site, I am learning a lot.
When we first move into our house we inherited a gardener who was very old-school in his methods. His idea of a job well done was a cleanly-raked garden with all the leaves, twigs and plant matter bagged for the Municipality to collect. As a consequence of this, the soil was sandy, red in colour and pretty much lifeless (see the before shot).
Over the past few years we have weened him off this way of thinking and replaced it will the mantra that everything that falls off the trees and plants should end up in the soil. Each time I trim back the shrubs or thin out some plants, the off-cuts also end up on the ground. Slowly the soil has changed back to a brown, moist, earthy colour and has started to smell, well, like nature (see the after shot). I have started to notice loads more insects inhabiting the garden and I’m sure, just below the surface, are a million and one worms.
I’m reading Pitta Joffe’s Creative Gardening with Indigenous Plants and she has section where she calls for the protection of our soil. She writes:
“Don’t sweep up and then proceed to throw away fallen leaves, dried and faded flowers, fruits, small twigs, etc. Apart from the fact that this is a totally misdirected use of energy, it is also the equivalent to throwing away bags of compost … Mulch is nature’s way of feeding plants, conserving moisture and protecting the soil surface and structure.”
